So I have been reading through Leviticus these last few days and as many others have experienced, I began to wonder what I'm supposed to get out of these passages. The sacrificial and behavioral laws are being described and at least the sacrifices are no longer a part of our relationship with God. And the behavioral stuff, you need to sort through to determine what was applicable to that culture and what is universal and applies to us today (much discernment required in this - you can to easily rationalize away something important!). Certainly you get the picture that for Israel to make sacrifices for their sin and guilt, there was a lot of work involved and it was messy. Holy cow! I can't imagine killing, draining the blood, piecing out and burning even one animal in a day, but Israel had many, many animals sacrificed in one day. So this is all interesting, but what am I supposed to take away from this.
Two things have struck me so far. One is the realization of just how costly a mistake it was for mankind to fall into sin. It cost us relationship with God without some provision of atonement. To make atonement cost a lot in terms of both the value of unblemished animals and the blood that was necessary to cover sin. This must have something to do with the fact that sin brought death to us and somehow to make amends for it required that something else die in our place.
That brings me to the second thing. It makes it all the more amazing to think about the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf when you think about all these sacrifices Israel made over centuries. Jesus covered them all and made them unnecessary. I have heard some say they are so thankful to be on this side of the cross and reading Leviticus really highlights one of the reasons why.
This next thought is a "freebie", not really related to my latest Scripture reading. Although reading all the rules given to Israel relates a little. Have you ever come across someone who doesn't believe in Jesus and their view of Christianity is that it is just a bunch of rules designed to spoil all the fun in life? This illustration has occurred to me. When you buy a complicated piece of electronic gear (or anything else really involved), you will probably spend at least a little time consulting the instruction manual which was put together by the manufacturer - the people who designed the product and knows how it works. Maybe you have also experienced not consulting the instructions thinking you can figure it out yourself. You may get some things right, but it only takes doing one thing wrong for it not to work right (I'm thinking about when I hooked up my surround sound system!). Well, many unbelievers do believe there is a God (even if they don't know Him yet) and many believe there was intelligent design behind the creation of the world. The "rules" of Christianity are not fun spoilers, they are the designer's instructions telling us how things work best in what He created. I have always found that doing things God's way makes for a better functioning life with more blessings and (dare I say it?), fun than trying to do things on my own. Try it, you might like it!
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